CNN – US Politics

By David Wright, CNN (CNN) — As Maine Democrats scramble to find a new nominee for the state’s highly consequential US Senate race, CNN will host a debate in partnership with the Bangor Daily News on Thursday, July 23, two days before 601 delegates gather at a convention to choose a new candidate. The two-hour

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and top White House adviser Stephen Miller on Thursday sought to paint a dark picture of the threat of “far-left terror” to the United States as they urged diplomats from around the world to “defend” their civilizations against the “scourge.” In remarks focused almost

By Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The investigation into a US strike that hit a school in Iran has sat for months with a military command while leaders have held off on ordering a critical, standard intelligence review to help determine what happened, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Within a week of

By Jennifer Hansler, Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN (CNN) — An American woman held in Iran since 2024 was allowed to leave the country, President Donald Trump and her US-based lawyer said Wednesday. Trump said the woman, later identified by her lawyer as Dena Karari, had been wrongfully detained and was “now safely outside of Iran, and

By Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration “absolutely screwed up the comms” around the Jeffrey Epstein files and should have released everything immediately, while insisting the administration was not trying to conceal information. “I say this with all candor, like we absolutely screwed up the comms of the

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — More than 100 House Democrats voted to block billions of dollars in military aid to Israel — an ultimately unsuccessful effort that highlighted the growing division in their party on the issue. On Wednesday 103 Democrats voted in support of an amendment to block aid that had been proposed

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump has been receiving options for expanding the military operation in Iran, according to two people familiar with the matter, including during a Situation Room meeting on Tuesday that centered on ways to intensify efforts to loosen Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has publicly

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Several years ago, a family came to the United States and took up a terrifying new endeavor: smuggling young, poor women from Central and South America into the country and forcing them into prostitution. The scheme was rather straightforward, according to court documents. One or two members of the

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Katie Bo Lillis, Holmes Lybrand, Katelyn Polantz, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — In twin hearings Wednesday, two nominees integral to executing President Donald Trump’s agenda worked to convince senators that they were up to the task: Todd Blanche for attorney general, and Jay Clayton to lead the US Intelligence community. The men

By MJ Lee, Annie Grayer, Nicky Robertson, CNN (CNN) — The House Oversight Committee has discussed with Jeffrey Epstein survivors the possibility of the women providing affidavits about longtime Epstein assistant Lesley Groff – coming on the heels of multiple survivors telling CNN that Groff had lied to the committee last month. The ongoing deliberations

By Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance said in a podcast episode that aired Wednesday that the backlash to a UFC fighter’s false and offensive remark about former first lady Michelle Obama was “totally disproportionate” to the comment itself. Speaking on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in an episode that taped Tuesday, Vance

By Ellis Kim, Ted Barrett, CNN (CNN) — The US House on Tuesday voted in strong bipartisan fashion to enact year-round Daylight Saving Time across the country. But the measure’s fate in the Senate remains far from certain. Senate Republican leaders have not said whether they will bring the bill – known as the “Sunshine

By Kristen Holmes, Holmes Lybrand, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Chief of staff Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s closest aide, and FBI Director Kash Patel helped personally orchestrate a sprawling investigation last week at the White House aimed at determining who in the government leaked information about the security deficiencies of a Qatari-gifted airplane meant

By Annie Grayer, Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck, CNN (CNN) — Former Obama White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler said she regrets interacting with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and believes now it was a mistake, according to opening remarks she delivered to House committee investigators as part of a closed-door interview. “If I knew

By Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday revealed his long-awaited plans for a massive $95 billion emergency funding request to pay for defense spending, including for the Iran war, and to promote President Donald Trump’s push to crack down on election laws. It’s a massive gamble by Johnson,

By Patrick Svitek, CNN (CNN) — County party chairs inundated with calls. An endless stream of Google sign-up forms and spreadsheets. And a disgraced former nominee looming over it all, haunting the party’s hopes of starting anew. The snap Democratic election to replace Graham Platner and face Republican Sen. Susan Collins this fall is off

CNN By Adam Cancryn, Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump shocked Gulf allies and many of his own aides with his plan to impose a toll on the Strait of Hormuz, touching off an international scramble to convince him to reverse course on his demand, several sources familiar with the matter

By Adam Cancryn, Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump shocked Gulf allies and many of his own aides with his plan to impose a toll on the Strait of Hormuz, touching off an international scramble to convince him to reverse course on his demand, several sources familiar with the matter told

Associated Press Madison, Wisconsin (AP) — Billionaire Elon Musk likely broke Wisconsin law when he handed out $1 million checks to voters in the 2025 state Supreme Court election, a bipartisan panel has found. The Wisconsin Elections Commission last week referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney’s office, which can choose to bring

CNN By Morgan Rimmer, CNN (CNN) — Darline Graham, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s younger sister, was sworn into the Senate on Tuesday to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term after his sudden death over the weekend. She was appointed to the seat by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and will remain in